BBA361 Business Ethics and Corporate Governance
Submitted before June 09. No late submission allowed.
Guidelines
1.Form a group of 2-3 persons for this assignment. Discuss thoroughly each question and case is necessary.
2.For BA student, you are required to submit the assignment in the standard format provided in my website.
Group Assignment II
Section I
1. Can an employer refuse to employ an applicant because of:
- Sex
- Disability
- Age
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Are there any reasonable justifications that can be made? Discuss with examples.
What can you do to prevent religion discrimination and create a harmonious
atmosphere if in your company there are employees with different religious
backgrounds working together? Explain with appropriate examples.
Define Affirmative Action in details. Critically discuss the points of view of those who
support and against this action.
Elaborate general ethical framework in marketing and consumers rights with
appropriate examples.
In Hong Kong there are some rules help to monitor the ethical practice in the trade
market. Briefly discuss these rules.
Discuss the reasons for the rise of corporate governance
What can a listed company do to make its company have high corporate governance
standard?
Section II Case Study (source from: Business, Government, and Society, A
Managerial Perspective, Text and Cases, 11edn, p. 503-511)
THE ATTACK ON ALCOHOL ADVERTISING
The NASCAR episode is a window into the broader attack on alcohol advertising. Although probation is a
moribund idea, a strong anti-alcohol movement still exists. Its leaders are activists in church, health,
consumer and citizens’ groups such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). Its greatest successes
have been getting all states to raise the legal a drinking age to 21 and establishing a national
drunken-driving standard of .08blood alcohol content. It also wants to ban or restrict alcoholic beverage
advertising. The movement’s indictment against alcohol ads is based on four beliefs.
First, advertising increases consumption. Many ads are designed to attract new drinkers and promote
additional drinking. Miner Lite's classic “Tastes Great Less Filling” spots attempted to responsible as a
competitor to soft drinks, telling consumers that light beer is a low-calorie drink that cm be consumed more
often than regular beer. The Michelob beer campaign based on the slogan “Put a little weekend in your
week”, encouraged weekend social drinkers to think of a all days of the week as drinking occasions. A
recent a campaign by the wine Marketing Council suggests that wine goes with television viewing.
Studies of the effect of advertising on consumption have generated mixed evidence. Generally national
studies find no correlation between overall spending for alcohol ads and consumption. But some studies of
local areas show that increased advertising does raise consumption and that advertising bans reduce it. No
firm conclusion is yet possible. This does not deter critics who believe that when alcohol ads saturate the
media, they create a climate of undeserved social approval for drinking. George Hacker of the Center for
Science in the Public Interest prefers to rely on plain, unscientific common sense.
Second, ads encourage children and teenagers to start drinking. The underage audience is bombarded with
ads for beer, wine, and liquor. Youths see as many as 2,000 beer and wine commercials on television every
year. And advertisers are purposely or inadvertently careless about placement. One study found that in 2003,
69,054 ads were run on programs where they were more likely to be seen by viewers ages 12 to 20 than by
adults of legal age. The cumulative mass of alcohol ads is an irresistible lesson that drinking is fun and leads
to social acceptance. Researchers report that fifth-and sixth-grade children who can describe alcohol ads
have more positive at attitudes toward drinking than less knowledgeable children. And many ads are
popular with children. For example, one survey found that Budweiser spots featuring the lizards Frankie
and Louie were the favorites of children aged six to seventeen. Alcohol ads seep in at very early ages. Millie
Webb is a former president of MADD. Two of her children were killed in a drunken-driving accident. One
day she noticed a frog on her piano and showed it to her thee-year-old nephew, who hew its name.“He said
‘Budweiser’”, she recalls. “It broke my heart.”
Underage consumption is significant. There are about 12million drinkers between 12 and 20years old,
creating a market estimated at $10billion. By the eighth grade, 44percent of children have used alcohol and
20 percent have been drunk. By the twelfth Fade, 77 percent have used alcohol and 60percent have been
drunk, more than half of them once a month or more-19Activists claim that the alcoholic beverage industry
targets underage drinkers not only with advertising but also with specialty products designed to attract
youth. These include flavored malt beverages, sometime called “alcopops”, single-serving vodka and
tequila cocktails with names such as Yellin Melon Balls and Blu-Dacious Kamikaze, and novelty products
such as cups of strawberry gelatin containing vodka. Although the industry denies target under-21 drinkers,
it makes no difference to critics. “Whether alcohol producers intentionally target 15- and 16-year-olds is
irrelevant,” argues Hacker; “that they reach them with the most sophisticated means and the most seductive
messages creates enough of a problem.
Third, sophisticated lifestyle advertising used by alcohol makers is manipulative because it locks into inner
drives. Informational advertising presents details about a product, for example, its price, availability, and
quality. In contrast, lifestyle-advertising position a product to fulfill emotional needs. Pictures and copy
associate alcohol with fulfillment of desires for popularity, success, sophistication, rebellion, romance, and
sexual conquest. The ads endow commodity products such as vodka or lager beer with brand images. Then,
by drinking that brand, the consumer adopts and projects the brand image. These ads may convey little or
no objective information about the beverage, only emotional theme. Sexual images are a staple of alcohol
marketing. However one study of alcohol ads magazines during a 14-year period found that other appeals
predominated over sexual imagery. In Life, for example, prestige and social acceptance were more frequent
theme. Whatever the image, critics believe that lifestyle ads are highly manipulative because they play on
emotions. If consumers respond to them they are being tricked into fulfilling inner needs by drinking.
Fourth, alcohol advertising is targeted not only at young drinkers but, sometimes inappropriately at other
groups too. An example of objectionable targeting is the heavy advertising of malt liquors in inner-city
black neighborhoods and in black media. Malt liquor has higher alcohol content than regular beer, and
advertisements for it appeal to drinkers looking for a high. Recently, United States Beverage Company
introduced a malt liquor called Phat Boy. “Phat” is a slang word used by teem for something hip, cool, or
exciting. Phat Boy was marketed with graffiti-style ads as “the new malt liquor with an attitude.” It came in
40-ounce bottles, each having nearly as much alcohol as a six-pack of regular beer. After an outcry by
activists, the company dropped the brand, although the reason it cited was poor sales. Hispanics are also
targeted. For example alcohol companies stage parties, promotion, concerts, and happy hours with Cinco De
Mayo themes. One critic laments that “the alcohol industry has managed to erase all reference to this day
as a historical event, one that Latino youth and their families should take pride in, and transformed it into a
major marketing time of year. Joseph E. Seagram & Sons changed the picture of the captain ob bottles of
Captain Morgan Spiced Rum when focus groups revealed that a less cartoon-like image attracted more male
Hispanic drinkers.
ALCOHOL MARKETERS DEFEND THEIR ADVERTISING
The industry defends its ads. First, it says, ads are not the cause of alcohol abuse. As noted, studies fail to
show that advertising increases consumption. So commercials and billboards cannot be blamed for car
accident, teen suicides, sexual aggression, spouse abuse, binge drinking, and alcoholism. Alcoholism, for
example, is a complex disease caused by personality, family, genetic, and physiological factors rather than
by viewing ads. So the main result of restraints would be to deprive moderate drinkers of product
information, not to ameliorate social problems. As one advertising executive notes, trying to stop problem
drinking with an ad ban “makes as little sense as trying to control the Ku Klux Klan by outlawing bed
liens.” Ad restrictions would also muzzle a competitive weapon. Because of stagnating demand, most
alcohol ads are aimed not at expanding demand but at getting consumers to switch brands. Without
advertising, starting a new national brand would be almost impossible and established brands would have
an insurmountable advantage. Innovative products such as ice beers would be hard to introduce.
Second, anti-alcohol groups assume that the public is too stupid to make responsible decisions. The idea of
curbing ads is condescending. Consumers are intelligent and skeptical.
They are not duped by the
association of alcohol with attractive images. Does anyone expect brewers and vintners to associate their
products with root canals, traffic congestion, or income taxes? The rejection of lifestyle advertising is also
condescending. If a consumer uses an alcohol brand to feel more sophisticated, popular or sexual, who is to
say that this method of satisfying the person's inner need is wrong? No one would criticize a woman for
feeling glamorous while she is wearing perfume, even though the perfume is simply a chemical,
nonessential to healthy life, and the glamour was created by ad imagery. If advertising endows alcoholic
beverages with a quality that satisfies emotional needs in responsible drinkers, it bestows a legitimate
benefit. 1e critics assume there is no merit to a product beyond its utilitarian qualities. What a dull world it
would be if all products were marketed and used on this basis.
Third, the beer wine, and spirits industries have voluntary codes of advertising behavior. The policies in
these codes are extensive and specific. For example, the Beer Institute's Advertising and Marketing Code
prohibits depictions of excessive consumption, intoxication, and drinking while driving. Models in beer ads
must be over 25 and “reasonably appear” to be over 21years old. No ads should be placed in media where
the audience is primarily under 21years old, and beer ads should never show “any symbol, language of
music, gesture, or cartoon character that is intended to appeal primarily to person below the legal purchase
age.” No depictions of Santa Claus or sexual promiscuity are permitted. The Wine Institute's Code of
Advertising Standards has similar guidelines. It prohibits showing the Easter bunny. The Distilled
Spirit Council of the United States Code of Good Practice for Distilled spirits Advertising and Marketing is
the most detailed and in its Preamble claims to ensure responsible, tasteful, and dignified advertising ...to
adult consumers.” Its provisions are similar to the two other codes. It allows “depictions of persons in a
social or romantic setting” but forbids advertisers to “depict sexual prowess as a result of beverage alcohol
consumption.” Each code sets a standard of advertising only on television programs where at least
70 percent of the audience is 21years of age or older.
A Perspective On Alcohol Advertising
Alcohol advertising is controversial. The Prohibition Party argument that it promotes an immoral, sinful and
unhealthy habit has few advocates today. However underage drinking is an important social problem and
sometimes leads unnecessary tragedy. The Mainstream campaign to limit alcohol advertising is focused
on protecting children and teenagers.
Its activists believe that appeals in alcohol ads intentionally or
negligently spill over to influence underage drinkers. Evidence is strong that children and teenagers are
attracted to some alcohol ads. But proof of cause and effect between advertising and underage consumption
eludes researchers.
Critics believe that the alcohol companies intentionally target underage drinkers to gain revenue and to lock
in brand loyalty at an early age.
They make a circumstantial case based on appearance. Critics believe
that alcohol marketers are so sophisticated they could precisely limit appeals to drinkers age 21 and over
without any spillover to underage drinkers. Belief in this much command of an audience is perhaps
wishful. Skepticism about the ability of alcohol ads to influence anyone may be equally reasonable. In
fact advertising is rarely the powerful force it is made out to be.
It is often ignored by consumers,
undermined by competitors, and drowned in a flood of commercial stimuli. Still, the alcohol industry
surely has an ethical duty to reduce potential harm. It ma or may not be meeting this duty now.
Questions:
1. Do you support liquor advertising on television? Is it necessary that alcoholic beverage companies
fulfill their ethical duty to be informative and truthful in advertising? Do they generally uphold their
ethical duty to minimize potential harm to society from underage drinking?
2. Why it is important for companies to be ethically responsible to consumers during the marketing and
advertising process?
3. Suggest ways to improve the problems of misleading of some alcohol ads and increasing underage
drinking.